Generally Accepted Translations of the Meaning
Muhammad Asad
[His sons] answered: "O our father! Ask God to forgive us our sins, for, verily, we were sinners."
M. M. Pickthall
They said: O our father! Ask forgiveness of our sins for us, for lo! we were sinful
Yusuf Ali (Saudi Rev. 1985)
They said: "O our father! ask for us forgiveness for our sins, for we were truly at fault."
The Clear Quran, Dr. Mustafa Khattab
They begged, “O our father! Pray for the forgiveness of our sins. We have certainly been sinful.”
Safi Kaskas
[His sons] answered, “Father, ask God to forgive us our transgressions. We were transgressors.”
Wahiduddin Khan
They said, O our father! Ask forgiveness for our sinswe were truly in the wrong
Shakir
They said: O our father! ask forgiveness of our faults for us, surely we were sinners
Dr. Laleh Bakhtiar
They said: O our father! Ask forgiveness for us for our impieties. Truly, we had been ones who are inequitable.
T.B.Irving
They said: "Our father, seek us forgiveness for our offences! We have been mistaken."
Abdul Hye
They said: “O our father! Ask forgiveness (from Allah) for our sins, indeed we have been sinners.”
The Study Quran
They said, “O father! Seek forgiveness for us from our sins. Truly we were at fault.
Talal Itani & AI (2024)
They pleaded, “O our father, seek forgiveness for our transgressions; we were indeed in the wrong.”
Talal Itani (2012)
They said, 'Father, pray for the forgiveness of our sins; we were indeed at fault.'
Dr. Kamal Omar
They said: “O our father! Seek forgiveness for us regarding our sins; indeed, we have been sinners.”
They said: "Father! Pray for the forgiveness for our sins. We have indeed done wrong."
Muhammad Mahmoud Ghali
They said, "O our father, ask forgiveness of our guilty (deeds) for us; surely we have been sinners."
Muhammad Sarwar
They said, "Father, ask God to forgive our sins; we have certainly sinned"
Muhammad Taqi Usmani
They said, .Our father, pray to Allah to forgive us our sins. Surely, we have been guilty
Shabbir Ahmed
They said, "O Our father! Ask forgiveness for us, for we trailed behind in your obedience, indeed we were at fault."
Dr. Munir Munshey
They said, "Oh our father, pray for our forgiveness. We surely, are the sinners!"
Syed Vickar Ahamed
They said: "O our father! Ask for us forgiveness (from Allah) for our sins, indeed, we were truly at fault."
They said, "O our father, ask for us forgiveness of our sins; indeed, we have been sinners."
[The Monotheist Group] (2011 Edition)
They said: "Our father, ask forgiveness for our sins, indeed we have been wrong."
Abdel Haleem
The [brothers] said, ‘Father, ask God to forgive our sins- we were truly in the wrong.’
Abdul Majid Daryabadi
They said: our father! pray for forgiveness of our sins for us; verily we have been sinners
Ahmed Ali
Said (the sons): "O our father, pray for us that our sins be forgiven, for we are really sinners."
Aisha Bewley
They said, ´Our father, may we be forgiven for all the many wrongs that we have done. We were indeed greatly mistaken men.´
Ali Ünal
(Jacob’s sons confessed what they had done.) They said: "O our father! Ask God to forgive us our sins; surely we have been sinful."
Ali Quli Qara'i
They said, ‘Father! Plead [with Allah] for forgiveness of our sins! We have indeed been erring.’
Hamid S. Aziz
They said, "O our father! Ask pardon for us of our sins; verily, we were sinners!"
Ali Bakhtiari Nejad
They said: “Our father, ask forgiveness for us for our sins, as we are indeed sinners.”
A.L. Bilal Muhammad et al (2018)
They said, “O our father, ask for us forgiveness for our sins, for we are truly at fault.
Musharraf Hussain
“Our father,” the brothers said, “seek forgiveness for our sins, we have been sinners.”
Maududi
They said: "Father! Pray for the forgiveness of our sins; we were truly guilty."
[The Monotheist Group] (2013 Edition)
They said: "Our father, ask forgiveness for our sins, indeed we were wrongdoers."
Mohammad Shafi
They said, "O our father! Pray for forgiveness of our sins. We indeed did wrong."
Controversial or status undetermined works
Ahmed Raza Khan (Barelvi)
They said, 'O our father, beg forgiveness of our sins, no doubt, we are sinful.
They said, "Our father, pray for our forgiveness; we were wrong indeed."
Hasan Al-Fatih Qaribullah
His sons said: 'Father, ask forgiveness for our sins. We have indeed been sinners.
Maulana Muhammad Ali
They said: O our father, ask forgiveness of our sins for us, surely we are sinners
Muhammad Ahmed & Samira
They said: "You, our father ask for forgiveness for us for our crimes, that we were sinners/mistaken/erroneous ."
Bijan Moeinian
His sons said: “Father, please pray to God to forgive us. We were absolutely wrong.”
Faridul Haque
They said, "O our father! Seek forgiveness for our sins, for we were indeed guilty."
Sher Ali
They said, `O our father, ask of ALLAH forgiveness of our sins for us; we have indeed been sinners.
Dr. Mohammad Tahir-ul-Qadri
They said: ‘O our father, seek for us forgiveness (from Allah) for our sins. Indeed, we alone are the sinners.
Amatul Rahman Omar
They said, `Our father! pray that our sins are forgiven to us, for certainly we have been sinful.
Muhsin Khan & Muhammad al-Hilali
They said: "O our father! Ask forgiveness (from Allah) for our sins, indeed we have been sinners."
New, Partial, or In Progress Translations
Fode Drame
They said, “O our father. Ask forgiveness for us [from God] for our sins for we indeed were in error.”
Munir Mezyed
They said: ‘O’ our father, ask forgiveness of our iniquitous deeds for us, surely we were sinful’.
Sahib Mustaqim Bleher
They said: oh our father, ask forgiveness for our sins, for we were guilty.
Linda “iLHam” Barto
They said, “O our father, ask for forgiveness for us because of our sins, for we were truly at fault.”
Fadel Soliman, Bridges‘ Translation
They said, “O father, pray for the forgiveness of our misdeeds; we were indeed wrongdoers.”
Irving & Mohamed Hegab
They said: "Our father, seek us forgiveness for our offences! We have been mistaken."
Samy Mahdy
They said, “O our father, seek forgiveness for our misdeeds; we were guilty ones.”
Sayyid Qutb
[His sons] said: 'Father, pray to God to forgive us our sins, for we were sinners indeed.'
Ahmed Hulusi
(Joseph’s brothers) said, “O our father... Ask for us forgiveness of our sins... Indeed, we were mistaken.”
Sayyed Abbas Sadr-Ameli
They said: 'O' our father! Ask forgiveness of our sins for us, verily we were guilty'.
There said the ten –guilty- sons to their father: "O father, invoke Allah's forgiveness on our behalf for what We committed of sinful deeds; we were indeed wrongful of actions."
Mir Aneesuddin
They said, “O our father ! ask for protective forgiveness for our sins on our behalf, we were certainly at fault.”
The Wise Quran
They said, 'O our father! Ask forgiveness for us of our sins; indeed, we were sinners.'